Improvement in folding lounges



UNITED STATEs "PATENT @rr-Ion WILLIAM II. LoTZ, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN FOLDING LOUNGES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 85,391, dated December29, 1868.

To all whom it mag/concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. LoTZ, of Chicago, in the county of Cookand State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Extension Sofa-Beds; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings making part of this specication, and to theletters of reference marked thereon, like letters indicating like partswherever they occur.

To enable others skilled in the art to con struct and use my invention,I will. proceed to describe it.

My invention relates to extension sofa-beds and consists in a novelconstruction of the same, so that when closed it occupies no more spacethan an ordinary single sofa, and all in dications of its being elsethan a single sofa arey concealed, and in combination therewith of areceptacle or chamber to receive the bedelothes, pillows, 85e., when notin use, and conceal them from sight, all as hereinafter' fullyexplained.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of the sofaclosed; Fig.' 2, the same opened or extended as a double bed; Fig. 3, across-section of the device closed,

with the position of the parts when extended shown in dotted lines; Fig.4, a rear-end elevation of the whole when extended.

My sofa-bed consists of an ordinary sofa, having connected to it, bypivoted arms, an upholstered body or shell, the interior shape andi-sizeof which correspond with the exterior of the sofa-body, and which shell,when the apparatus is closed, is set upon or over the body of the sofa,covering the top, front, and ends thereof, and giving the sofa the sameappearance that it had before the shell was placed upon it, with theexception of being increased in size an amount equal to the thickness ofthe shell. When the sofa is to be extended, the shell is lifted oi andplaced on the iloor in front of' and against the sofa, it being held inplace against the sofa by the links before referred to.

In the drawing, A represents the sofa, and B the shell, which isconnected to the sofa by pose of the contrivance.

the links or arms C, one at each end, each of said arms being connectedat one end rigidly to the shaft or rod a, lying underneath and runninglengthwise of the sofa, and theiropposite ends, by pivots e', to the endofthe shell G, all as clearly shown in Figs. l, 2, and 4. The arms G areof such length and the pivots z' so located that, when the shell is onthe sofa, they allow it to rest snugly in place, with its rear edgeclose against the back of the sofa, and its lower edge resting upon theledge d, as shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 4, thus giving it a good `solidsupport, and preventing it from sliding or working oft' from the sofa,and when swung down in front, to hold it (the shell) rmly up against thesofa, with its rear edge resting upon the ledge d, as shown in Figs. 2and 4. That portion of the body of the sofa underneath the elevated endor bolster is made hollow, and left open at the end, forming a recess orchamber, D, into which the bed-clothes may be placed, the chamber beingclosed by the end of the shell, which shuts down over the open end, thusaffording a spacious and convenient receptacle to contain all the loosearticles used, .wearing apparel as well as bedclothes. The upholsteringof the whole is such as to effectually conceal all joints, 85e., whenthe sofa is closed, so that no indication is presented to the closestobserver of the device being more than a common sofa, with the exceptionofthe arms C, which may, however, be so formed as to be more ornamentalthan otherwise; or they may be so attached as to close inside of theshell and out of sight, thus ai'ording no clue whatever to the doublepur- As the arms C are both rigidly secured to the shaft a, one end ofthe shell B cannot be moved without operating the other in a similarmanner, Vso that, by taking hold of one end of the shell, the whole maybe carried over into the required position. The shell or extension B maybe made of any required thickness, and of any suitable materials. Whendesired, the shell maybe detached by simply removing the pivots z', thusaffording two distinct and separate sofas.

The advantages of my sofa-bed over others are, first, that, when closed,there is no indication of its being other than an ordinary sofa; second,it is not necessary to make it of any unusual or particular shape toapply my ilnprovements, but it may be of the shape best suited for easeand beauty, Whatever that shape may be; third, the bolster or head isalways right side up, whether the sofa be extended or not, and it is notnecessary to reverse it when 4extending it; fourth, a large andconvenient receptacle is provided for the bedclothes, &c., Withoutenlarging` the sofa.

Having thus fully described my invention, What I claim is-

